Our family moved just north of Portland, Oregon, on a homestead in the tiny Rock Creek drainage. Not three months after we got there, we were awakened in the pre-dawn hours by chainsaws felling 100-foot Douglas firs that crashed down across the slopes facing our property. It shook our windows and it shook our kids.

Public support for making marijuana legal reached a record high in 2013. A Pew Research Center poll released in April showed 52 percent support, and a Gallup poll in October showed 58 percent support. It's now safe to say most Americans are fed up with marijuana prohibition.

Reform advocates have long suggested that getting folks out of the ranks of the uninsured should cut down on visits to the ER for noncritical medical care. An Oregon study, which was published in the journal Science, would seem to disprove that theory.

The concept of "pay for play" in college athletics has recently been put under a national spotlight. Meanwhile, many student-athletes still struggle to foot the bills that come with the full cost of education.

"Venues speak to the people that frequent them. The Crystal was built for counterculture. It was on the third floor of the building so the dancers in the '20s had time to 'separate' before the cops could get there. When dancing was illegal they did it at the Crystal."

There was something almost apocalyptic about 2013. But much happened that was hopeful this year -- a new pope focused on inequality, successful minimum wage campaigns spread across the country, and the number of states allowing gay marriage doubled.

That's 53 million people and GDP of $2.8 trillion. So it's not a stretch to say the new Pacific Coast Action Plan on Climate and Energy will make a huge difference for the entire country. And guess what? Congress had nothing to do with it.

As we all know, everything tastes a bit better at altitude, perhaps after a long day of skiing, snowboarding, biking, rafting or fishing. So, to tempt your taste buds after an epic day, check out these distilleries and their "spirited" offerings for a tasty mountain treat.

Strayed's and Dale's memoirs define a different category. Call it 'Conscious Walking,' or 'How I Walked Myself To A Better Life,' journeys of over 1,000 miles that bravely explore the raw, rocky and often hazardous terrain of inner lives in crisis and turmoil.

Most Christians once opposed the fight for equality for gays and lesbians. Today many Christians and other people of faith are at the forefront of the fight to end discrimination against the gay and lesbian community -- even working to support marriage equality.

The first time I saw Janine Brito perform was in Seattle in 2011 when she was opening for Nato Green, Hari Kondabolu, and W. Kamau Bell. She was hysterical and unique. She has wonderful stories and she's so genuine and likeable and quirky.